The present invention relates to an oil filter accessory or wrench, and more particularly to a hand operated oil filter accessory or wrench which facilitates installation and/or removal of an oil filter relative to an automobile engine or the like.
Canister-type oil filters are typically used and replaced, as needed, in automobile engines or the like. Oil filter installation and removal has always been a relatively difficult task. During installation of the oil filter, the limited space and surrounding environment of the oil filter may inhibit the ease with which the oil filter may be conveniently and quickly installed. Removal of the oil filter, on the other hand, may be exacerbated not only by the location and surrounding environment of the oil filter, but also because oil filters sometimes tend to become frozen in-place. There are also situations encountered where the engine has only been recently turned off, leaving the engine and the oil filter hot. Even where certain types of tools can be used to break the filter loose, the oil filter may not be able to be picked up by hand, if it is still hot.
Oil filter installation and removal has become increasingly difficult with the introduction of smaller downsized, front wheel drive passenger cars. In such cars, the space around the oil filter is normally limited, allowing little more than space for a hand to be positioned around the oil filter. Since most oil filters can not be removed by hand pressure alone, removal tools are generally necessary. At present, there are removal tools requiring a fixed handle or socket wrench which are not only difficult to use, but such tools may also interfere with the surrounding parts and/or environment surrounding the oil filter.
Some examples of such prior art tools are shown, for example, by U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,711,225; 4,350,063; and 4,552,040, each of which show a circumferential clamp-type device with an interconnected tool such as a lever, handle or screw driver that assists in tightening or loosening the cable clamp device when it is desired to install or remove same relative to an oil filter. U.S. Pat. No. 4,643,053 also discloses a housing adapted to grip an oil filter, with a separate tool used to engage the housing in order to tighten or loosen same from an oil filter. In all of these prior art examples, the interconnected or separate tool is difficult to use in tight and confined spaces, such as the smaller, downsized front wheel drive cars. Moreover, such devices are difficult to use in any environment, with no assurance that the oil filter will be installed and removed according to the manufacturer's specifications.